Description

An understorey tree of the evergreen rain-forest, to over 20 m high and trunk girth to 2–3 m, recorded from Sierra Leone to Ghana. The tree is fairly common in the high-forest, and in Sierra Leone it is considered an important forest-regeneration weed-species (8).The wood is yellowish-white or pale olive, hard and heavy but not durable (4, 5, 8). It is occasionally logged in Sierra Leone, but the quantity is limited and the timber is used in general construction work in mixture with other woods (8). Log-ends become gummy and the wood is not easy to work though it gives a smooth finish and is usable locally for carpentry.The bark-slash yields a copious quantity of clear watery gum which thickens to a translucent gelatinous glue. This substance is the poto-poto of Ivory Coast which the Abe liken to a swamp, hence their vernacular name for the species (1, 7). In that country the gum, heated over stones, is used topically for yaws on the soles of the feet (2), and in Sierra Leone it is applied to rheumatic areas to alleviate the pain (8). A bark-decoction is astringent and is taken in Liberia for diarrhoea (3, 4, 5).The Kru of Ivory Coast use a leaf-decoction in draught and baths for dropsy and oedemas (7).A root-decoction is recorded as used in fumigations and frictions for localized oedemas in Ivory Coast, eye-wash for ophthalmias and in draught as a diuretic (2). Also in Ivory Coast a root-bark decoction prepared together with other drug-plants is given in cases of very difficult childbirth (7).The seed contains two cotyledons, and in external shape and colour is so alike the kola nut as to be used sometimes as an adulterant. The seed however is not edible and is very bitter. The seed-oil is used in Sierra Leone to rub on the body for craw-craw and on the head for lice (6).